Google to support Chrome XP until April 2015 at least

Summary:When XP support ends next April will you still be running it? Use Chrome and at least your browser will keep getting security updates. There's a good argument that Google is indulging lax security by doing so.

Windows XP is the one that has raised the most concern, as a significant number of users still rely on it, especially outside the US. Many of these users are Chrome users.

In announcing their extended support period, Google pointed out that browsers are often used as vectors for exploiting vulnerabilities in operating systems, so a secure browser will become all the more important on Windows XP once the patches stop. Internet Explorer on Windows XP will no longer be patched, so using it will become more dangerous.

Mark Larson, Director of Engineering and Superintendent of Public Safety for Google Chrome, who wrote the blog, said that the company's goal is to support Chrome XP users "during this transition process" from XP to something else. Microsoft has been calling the last few years the transition period, and it's possible that by indulging XP users with continued support that Google will delay that transition.

Extending support might be the right thing to do, but it would also be helpful for them to announce a hard stop to that support.

Correction at 5 p.m. ET: Windows Server 2003 end of life is July 2015. We've corrected the article to reflect this.

Larry Seltzer has long been a recognized expert in technology, with a focus on mobile technology and security in recent years. He was most recently Editorial Director of BYTE, Dark Reading and Network Computing at UBM Tech.
Prior to that he spent over a decade consulting and writing on technology subjects, primarily in the area of sec...
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